The cold night air instantly froze my exposed face, hands and the top part of my chest. The sky was cloudless, and there seemed to be so many more clear stars than normal.

Wednesday should know something about that, I thought, before remembering that when I'd left the party, the only thing Wednesday was thinking about was Al.

The cold hit me with an icy blast as we turned a corner, I shivered, "Brr. Why is it so cold?" I asked Theo, as he too shivered and buttoned up the rest of his shirt — neither of our body heat keeping us warm.

"I don't know," he replied and glanced up towards the forest. "Might have something to do with the Alpha."

"Oh." That was all I said, all I needed to say.

It took us around half an hour to walk to Theo's. The yew trees were even more daunting than they were in the daylight, and the white mansion seemed to loom up out of the ground. While we were walking, any time a car alarm went off or a cat screeched, both of us were set on edge.

I was pretty sure neither of us could stop thinking about Lake Oldoy's latest supernatural arrival; an Alpha who decided to announce his presence on Halloween. At least he scheduled it well.

"What time is it?" I questioned as Theo dug around in his pockets for the house key.

Remembering I had my phone, which I frequently left at home by accident, I pulled it out and squinted as the screen lit up. It was exactly 22:22, making my heart stutter. Ever since I was a kid, I'd always obsessed over these mirror times. Whenever a mirror time happened, I thought it meant something good or new was coming.

As it so happens, the Phoenix entered my body at exactly 14:41. A mirror time I would never forget.

"It felt like we were at that party for hours," I complained as Theo finally unlocked the door.

"Yeah, parties can be weird like that. But you're out of it now." He forced a wan smile on his face; I had zero doubt that the new Alpha was troubling him.

Leaning against the cream wall as Theo flicked the lights on, I wondered aloud, "Would you consider joining this new Alpha?"

He sighed heavily as he turned to face me — as if he was trying to expel all the air from his lungs.

"It's fine, forget I asked," I rushed when I saw the distraught look on his face. Wandering through the entrance hallway to where I knew the kitchen was, I called back to him, "Can I grab something to eat? I'm so hungry."

"For sure." He caught up with me, and just like that left the topic of the Alpha behind for a little while.

"Normally on Halloween," I admitted as he searched the mostly empty cupboards, "I just stay in and binge eat while I watch films."

"When I was with my pack," Theo spoke as he turned to face me, "We used to have a massive bonfire and run around Coloma — the abandoned mining town from the gold rush days, where we lived — and act like complete idiots." A smile found his face as he reminisced. "And that was every last day of the month. Not just Halloween."

"If I spent every last day of the month like I usually spend Halloween, I would quickly run out of food and good scary films." I laughed — realising that seeing Theo happy made me happy.

Emotional connection, check!

"What do you wanna do now then?" He tilted his head at me and smirked softly. Not a cocky kind of smirk, more like a sweet, wonky smile. But it was a smile that reached his eyes, and that made me smile back.

"Hmm." I twisted my mouth in contemplation like it was a difficult decision. "Fancy binge eating and watching some scary films? I mean, it wouldn't be Halloween without a scary film."

"Sure." He nodded. "Want some popcorn?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

Theo rifled through a few more cupboards. "I've only got a sweet and salty mix — is that okay?"

"Ew, no." I wrinkled my face up in disgust. "Sweet popcorn is superior."

"Well, it's all we've got. And to be honest, I don't fancy leaving the house again tonight," he told me pointedly, "So you can suck it up and just pass me all the salty ones, okay?"

"You like salty popcorn?" I frowned as he checked the microwave instructions on the bag of the brown paper bag.

"No, but I'll eat it if it keeps you happy." He shrugged, glancing up at me briefly and revealing his slightly pinkened cheeks.

My heart melted a little.

"Before we get the popcorn started, I seriously need a shower to wash off this fake blood," Theo told me, rubbing his hands over his chest.

"Same, with my makeup and latex," I nodded before my eyes widened and I rushed out — "I mean, I don't need a shower at the same time as you; I just need a shower at some point soon. Preferably before the movie."

"Chill, Ember." Theo chuckled as he left the popcorn on the side and crossed the kitchen. His hands glided down my arms. "You can have the first shower. That way the water won't go cold on you."

"Thanks," I smiled, staring down at the floor.

I walked upstairs ahead of him, silently screaming at my hormones to calm down.

I had a shower at lightning speed. Partly because I didn't want the water to go cold; mostly because I knew Theo was sitting in his room waiting. He had an ensuite bathroom which was pretty sweet.

But thanks to the lack of female products in there, I had to scrub my face so hard under the shower to wash off my makeup. A large part of me feared that my face would be bright red.

I wrapped one of the cream towels around my body tightly and stepped back into Theo's room. "All yours."

"Great." He barely looked at me as he rushed into his ensuite. Maybe my face looked worse than I'd imagined.

Opening my mouth, I turned back towards the ensuite — only to have the door shut in my face. I'd left my clothes on the floor in there, and now I had nothing to put on.

I stared at Theo's wardrobe for a good five minutes before deciding to open it. His tops and a couple of hoodies hung from the rail — all bunched together on the right-hand side, even though he barely had that many things hanging up. A dark green duffel bag rested at the bottom of the wardrobe.

Securing the top of my towel with my hand, I leant down and ran my fingers over the coarse fabric. Some part of me knew it was the bag into which all of Theo's worldly possessions fitted.

"Ember, why aren't you dressed yet?" Theo burst back into his bedroom, causing me to straighten up and blush fiercely — extremely aware that I'd just been snooping through his things.

My blush only deepened as my eyes focused on him. With his towel wrapped low around his waist, droplets of water rolled over his well-built chest, trickled down his abs and disappeared into the towel.

"I— Ugh..." Words failed me; all I wanted to do was close that distance between us and press him against the wall and kiss him.

"You can borrow some of my clothes if you want." Theo appeared to be entirely oblivious to me staring at him. Maybe he was used to it.

Mouth dry, I swallowed and forced myself to nod, although I'm pretty sure I just looked like I was gonna throw up. "Umm, okay."

I turned, grabbed a random hoodie off a hanger and practically ran back into the bathroom. With the door shut, I pulled on my discarded underwear and then the hoodie. It fell to mid-thigh. I'd managed to tear my fishnet tights as I took them off, so my bare legs would have to do.

At least I shaved this morning.

Dread filled me as I caught a glance of my face in the mirror. Not because of how tired I looked, but because I remembered something.

"Hey, Theo, I just—" I walked back out of the ensuite, figuring that he would've been dressed by then.

I thought wrong — Theo was standing in a pair of joggers, rubbing his towel over his wet hair as his abs clenched.

"You just what?" He turned to me.

"I remembered that we missed our detentions the other day," I forced myself to talk, though couldn't tear my eyes off him. "You know the ones from P.E.?"

"It's hardly a big deal." He lifted his shoulders in that casual nonchalance as he too pulled on a hoodie. "I used to skip detentions all the time back in Montana."

"Yeah, well, if you skip one detention at Challis, you have to do a detention of double the time." I fidgeted with the hem of the hoodie I was wearing, "So that means that next Friday night, we'll be at school until 7:30."

"Are you for real?" He sighed when I nodded my head.

"Yep, they're pretty serious about detentions and that at Challis."

He picked up his towel off the floor. "Well, at least I'll get to spend another four hours with you."

I pulled a face and told him, "They'll probably make us do something as well, like tidying."

To be entirely honest, I wasn't even sure if we'd still be talking by next Friday — that's how this relationship seems to go, isn't it?

"C'mon, let's get that popcorn sorted." Theo held out his hand to me from across the room.

I slid my hand into his and linked our fingers together, steadying my nerve as I did so. I knew that I wouldn't hurt him the way I almost hurt Jack; the passion I felt for Theo was not driven by seeking revenge.

It was driven by something much more emotional.

And at least I knew he would've been able to protect himself if I accidentally lost control.

"Theo..." I faced him as we walked downstairs hand-in-hand. "Do you ever get scared by how much power you have?"

Okay, so I'd never actually seen his power at that point, but I knew that he had to have been pretty strong to make it a few months alone, being an Omega and all. After my fight with him about the past, I got my Uncle Rob to send me all the PDFs he has on werewolves — some of it made sense while some of it baffled me beyond belief.

"Only on a full moon when I don't have much control." He narrowed his eyes out one of the windows as we reached the bottom of the stairs, before turning his head to me, "How about you? I guess a lot, considering you've never actually shifted."

"All the time," I replied, barely a whisper — finally admitting the truth aloud. "Especially since it seems things are going to get harder before they get easier."

"Life as a supernatural is never going to be easy, Ember." A certain wise solemnity entered Theo's voice, "But you don't have to be scared all the time. There are plenty of people who care about you." He stopped walking to face me head-on, "I care about you, and I won't let anything happen to you as long as you're with me, okay?"

"Okay," I murmured and smiled a little in gratitude.

"How about we get that popcorn sorted and find a movie?" He tugged me towards the kitchen.

"Thoughts on vampire films?" I questioned as I lifted myself onto the marble kitchen island to watch the popcorn circle the microwave.

"I swear to God, if you suggest Twilight, I'm kicking you to the kerb," he warned with his eyebrows raised — not a trace of joking in his voice.

"I wasn't!" I raised my hands in mock defence.

"Any other suggestions?"

"Well, there's Final Destination," I suggested after racking my brain. "Basically, this group of teenagers avoid their plane exploding and then each of them gets killed in order. It's all about how avoiding death just makes Death come after you anyway."

My blood chilled and drained away from my face as I locked eyes with Theo. Both of us said the same name in sync, "Kaden."

"We're not watching Final Destination," Theo stated, and I promptly bobbed my head in agreement.

After spending the next few minutes debating scary films that all had freakish similarities to our lives, the popcorn finally finished and all we'd decided to do was see what was on TV. Once we were settled in the extremely spacious living room on an extremely spacious sofa, we found that re-runs of Scooby-Doo were on.

Theo jerked his eyebrow up at me. "At least it's animated."

"Fine," I huffed, hiding the joy that I felt at re-watching one of the TV shows from my childhood. "Just pass me the popcorn already."

Handing over the popcorn bowl, Theo's eyes stayed on me for a few minutes while I watched the wide-screen TV intently. It was mounted on the wall, so I leaned back on the sofa and tried to relax.

There we were, on an extremely spacious sofa and yet Theo was right next to me. His breath hit my neck and I cosied down into his hood — surreptitiously inhaling the smell of it. It smelt so good; almost as good as Theo himself.

I shovelled a handful of popcorn into my mouth, wincing slightly as I got a couple of salty ones.

Theo kept on looking at me, so I chewed and swallowed quickly.

"What is it, Theo? Have I got something on my face?" I demanded, not looking at him — I was far too engrossed in the Mystery Gang's shenanigans.

"You looked so pretty tonight," he told me quietly.

I kept watching the screen. "Thanks. You looked pretty too."

"I mean it, Ember," he spoke softly. "I know I rushed things last time you were here, but I do like being with you."

"I like being with you too," I turned to face him briefly before looking away again. "I mean, who else is gonna watch kids' TV shows with me?"

"That's a fair point," he laughed lightly, before moving a bit away from me.

I felt the air in the still room fluctuate as coldness replaced his warm body — I didn't realise that our shoulders had been touching until he moved and that phantom form pressed against my skin.

Dragging my attention away from the TV, I took a chance and asked him, "Truth or dare."

Without missing a beat, Theo fired back, "Truth."

"Would you rather be at the party still instead of watching Scooby-Doo with me?"

"Nope. That party sucked." He pulled a bored face as he admitted, "The best part about it was that you were there."

Daring myself to flirt, I shrugged a shoulder, "As it should be."

"Now you — truth or dare." He poked my shoulder teasingly.

"Truth." I smiled back at him, testing myself for once.

"Do you like me?" He raised his eyebrows at me. "And I mean as more than just friends."

"Yeah, I do." I blushed as I said the words aloud and buried my burning face in my hands. Incredulously, I exclaimed, "Happy now?"

"Very." Theo peeled my hands away from my face and leaned to kiss my cheeks softly. His lips were feather-light on my skin as if he'd barely touched me.

I pressed my lips together as I looked up to meet Theo's eyes. We were so close now that our noses grazed together and the sensation of his breath against my face set my nerves alight.

"Can I kiss you?" He murmured, and every syllable he spoke was like a newfound melody.

"Please do," I murmured back, raising my hand to caress his jaw.

The moment our lips met, they melded together and I almost surrendered myself completely to Theo Aquila. The electrical sparks that seemed to be pulling us together connected through our lips and fireworks exploded behind my closed eyelids.

I never knew that kissing someone could be so... incredible. Though it could've just been how deeply and irrevocably connected I was to Theo.

"Wow..." he uttered against my lips, and I knew I was in deeper than I thought.

"Are you okay with being this... close to me?" I questioned; my voice almost silent as I remembered how he freaked out in the woods the first time we kissed.

"More than okay," he mumbled back. Lit by the TV's changing colours, his eyes revealed how deeply he felt about me too.

"How am I so connected to you already?" I wondered aloud, trailing my fingers over his lips. It was true that we'd only kissed — and yet it felt like we had done so much more. It felt like we had done everything in the world together; all through one heated kiss.

"I don't know." Theo swallowed, his Adam's apple bouncing up and down. "But if it's any consolation, I feel the same way about you. You're not like anyone I've ever known, Ember Milburn."

"Neither are you, Theo Aquila," I admitted, watching him and waiting for him to speak — as if my existence depended on him praising me.

"I wasn't lying at Ashley's when I told you I felt I'd known you for a lifetime," he confessed, grazing the backs of his fingers along my cheek. "I don't understand it, but I know that it's real. It's so much more real than everything else in my life right now. This house," he looked around us, "My parents... They're just my foster parents. Everything is fake apart from you, Ember."

"I'll try my best to keep it real with you, then." I let a gentle smile spread across my face. I was quickly learning that being gentle was the best way to help Theo to open up.

I accidentally let out a huge yawn. "Oh, God." I tried to stifle it before quickly explaining, "I'm not bored of this conversation, I promise. It's just that it's late and it's kinda felt like a long night."

"It's perfectly okay." Theo pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Besides," he added, "I'd be able to tell if you were lying."

"R-really?" I stuttered, eyes widening.

"Yep, I can hear your heartbeat. If you were lying to me, it would've jumped," Theo told me.

"Well, then you'll know I'm not lying when I tell you I'm ready for bed," I smiled sleepily as the night's events washed over me. "Take me to bed?"

"I should make up one of the spare rooms then," Theo said decisively. "I just have to find where Lis keeps the linens—"

"I want to sleep in your bed, with you." I was hardly aware of what I'd said until he replied.

Theo's right eyebrow jerked up in amusement, "Ember Milburn, are you asking me to sleep with you?"

"I want to sleep next to you Theo," I insisted. "I don't want to be alone knowing there's a big bad Alpha werewolf out there."

Theo chuckled to himself. "Not all Alphas are bad, Ember. This one might be okay."

I looked at him pointedly before clasping my arms around his neck. "Shut up and carry me to your bed already."

After flicking off the TV, Theo obliged and carried me upstairs bridal-style. He was equally a gentleman when he placed me in his bed and pulled the covers over me. He turned to go before I grabbed onto his hand.

"Stay," I pleaded sleepily, pulling him into bed with me.

"Okay." He slid into bed next to me and looped an arm over my body lightly.

"Closer," I huffed — clearly having regressed to the point of fatigue where one-word answers are all one can manage.

Theo shuffled closer to me until we were spooning; his chest against my back, my butt against his crotch and our legs tangling together.

"Is this okay?" He whispered in my ear, before kissing my neck gently.

Letting my body relax against his, I replied, "More than okay."

And then I realised how I felt... I felt safe lying there in his strong arms, I felt like he would protect me, no matter what.

"You make me feel safe, Theo," I admitted, whispering over my shoulder to him — finding enough energy to get more than one word out.

His body stiffened instantly. "You shouldn't feel safe around me."

Turning to face him, I took his face in my hands, "You make me feel safe." I repeated the words again and again and again, kissing his face after each time I said it until he eventually relaxed.

Though I could tell he wasn't fully at ease, it was understandable, considering everything that he'd previously suffered from after losing his pack. No longer did I believe that he had hurt them; I'd seen how hurt he was at having lost them.

I turned back around; his arms folding around me again and our limbs entangling again.

"Good night, Theo," I said softly as I felt myself drifting.

"'Night, Ember," he whispered back and nuzzled his head a little closer to my neck.

Smiling to myself, I let the comforting darkness of sleep consume me.